Tag Archives: Drug Addiction Treatment Center

Dayton, Ohio, is one of the worst hit states by the opioid epidemic, but it’s also a town fighting to save lives with everything it’s got, and it sounds like the town has a plan that other cities and states can learn from. A November article in The New York Times (This City’s Overdose Deaths Have Plunged. Can Others Learn From It?) states that “it may be at the leading edge of a waning phase of an epidemic that has killed hundreds of thousands…in the U.S., including nearly 50,000 last year.” But now, deaths from overdoses are down more than 50% from last year.

This seems to be one of the few hopeful articles about the opioid problem, saying that all opioid deaths are decreasing, according to the CDC. Here’s how this town is doing it.

First, the governor’s decision to expand Medicaid three years ago means that more people are able to receive free addiction and mental health treatment (and more than 12 treatment centers have opened as a result. Let’s hope they’re good.)

Second, there is greater support available in the town after treatment, including tons of recovery support groups and the availability of (and training for) peer support personnel. In addition, teams comprised of social workers, police officers, medical personnel, and those in recovery visit people who have recently overdosed to try and persuade them to enter treatment.

Third, Dayton has blanketed the city with Naloxone. The police chief is adamant that his staff carry it, unlike some of his peers in other cities who view administering Narcan as enabling. He sees it as a harm reduction tool that will help him achieve his goal of saving as many lives as possible.

Fourth, Carfentanil (similar to fentanyl, a synthetic opioid 10,000 times more powerful than morphine) is not being found as frequently in overdoses. A DEA agent theorized that perhaps “traffickers realized how much of its base it was killing.”

Fifth, the police and medical workers agree with each other on an approach and are working together. The police often believe in “a punitive, abstinence-only approach to addiction,” while the medical community wants to eliminate deaths by any means possible. In Dayton, the chief supported a syringe exchange program (which was dropped in Santa Ana, ironically), and got a federal grant to distribute fentanyl test strips to check for fentanyl similarities in other medications.

You wonder: Would these steps work in cities the size of Philadelphia or San Francisco? And/or, there are enough smaller towns with a similar problem — couldn’t some of these steps be tried there?

A recent study shows what can happen when medical professionals don’t take every opportunity to help. These professional can be another part of the solution, at least when people start on opioids for pain relief and then become addicted. Researchers at the Washington State University College of Nursing studied a group of ten who fit this profile to answer two questions: How do people with chronic pain move from appropriate use of opioids to addiction? And what prompts them to seek drug addiction treatment?

Part of the reason for the study was that not many people had looked into these questions. It’s not a large study, but all of those involved fell prey to cravings and then found they were dependent on the pills.

Many of the study participants said their medical professionals could have helped them identify their addiction and get into treatment but instead they felt the providers seem to judge them, didn’t believe them when they complained, or didn’t take their pain complaints seriously. The researchers said the patients’ “most challenging relationships” were with the healthcare workers they dealt with, and what’s needed is more compassionate, nonjudgmental care.

It would be helpful if this study could hit as wide an audience as possible.

If you need additional information about drug rehab in California and any other state, you’re welcome to call Summit Estate professionals at (866) 569-9391.

There are numerous American cities that stand out for certain characteristics. Madison, Wisconsin as a great place to bike. Cooperstown, N.Y., for the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. Asbury Park, N.J., as the town where Bruce Springsteen got his start. The list goes on and on. Recently, San Francisco and Philadelphia, on opposite coasts, were characterized as standing out for similar reasons: the devasting consequences of addiction.

In San Francisco, for example, an area of Hyde Street has “an open-air narcotics market by day and at night is occupied by the unsheltered and drug-addled slumped on the sidewalk.” Twitter, the article notes, is only a 15-minute walk from there, and other giants of the technology industry are not far away. (Note that the previous blog post dealt with substance abuse in Silicon Valley, not far from the San Francisco area in this post.)

San Francisco’s “persistent homelessness” is a big problem for such wealth so close to it, and a large part of the homeless are the drug dependent. There are hundreds upon hundreds of heroin needles lying around, along with the people who shoot up. The dealers and users are known as “the street people,” or the street population. One resident said it’s like “the land of the living dead” and accuses the city of allowing a containment zone so that the devastation doesn’t spread. The police say the drug trade is their most significant issue.

The problem is so dire that in August, San Francisco health workers walked the streets to find opioid users and offer them Suboxone prescriptions, according to another article. The recipients can get the medication the same day. “At the end of a recent yearlong pilot, about 20 of the 95 participants were still taking buprenorphine under the care of the street medicine team.”

It’s estimated that 22,500 people “actively inject drugs,” and the San Francisco medical director said there’s a strong trend of people using both meth and opioids in the city, which is really difficult to treat. But the goal of going to the streets to find users is to reduce the number of deaths.

Almost three thousand miles away, Philadelphia is known far and wide as “the largest open-air narcotics market for heroin on the East Coast” and so it draws people from “all over,” according to an article that appeared in the New York Times magazine last October. In one neighborhood known as Kensington, which actually takes in other areas as well, dealers hand out free samples with impunity and those on drugs are using them in the open or are already passed out. It’s known as the Badlands and supposedly has the purest heroin in a three-state area.

The author rode through the area in 2017 with a special agent with the D.E.A. According to her description, it looks like the apocalypse hit there – “Houses transformed into drug dens, factories into spaces to shoot up, rail yards into homeless encampments.” Sadly, the largest provider of drug treatment programs in the Bay Area is the prison system.

There’s history behind why this neighborhood is the way it is, starting with the fact that it had cheap housing, and once people moved in and a drug haven started springing up around them, they didn’t have the money to leave. That story, and the individual stories, go on and on, and it’s just so sad. Kind of like San Francisco. Last January the governor signed a statewide disaster declaration—a public health emergency—to take concrete steps to try and address the devastation.

In the comments that appeared after the article, a San Francisco resident wrote in to say, “The article has allowed me to see how intractable our own ‘homeless’ problem in San Francisco will be without first addressing the drug epidemic….[It] shows what a death sentence heroin is, both for the users and for the community that the users (and pushers) inhabit. Why do we as a civilized, supposedly advanced society allow this?”.

If you need additional information on this matter or about Summit Rehab plans, please call us at (866) 569-9391.

Dsuvia

There’s a new opioid in town called Dsuvia. It’s been all over the news lately, and it’s controversial. An NBC News headline proclaimed “FDA approves powerful new opioid in ‘terrible’ decision.” The FDA was also accused of bypassing its own advisory process to approve the drug.

This drug, which is 1,000 time stronger than morphine, is usually given in IV form. This new formulation is a tablet taken sublingually and is to be used only in health care settings such as hospitals. According to the NBC article, it’s commonly used on the battlefield and similar emergencies “to treat intense, acute pain.”. It was actually the military that requested the pill formulation.

In the middle of the opioid crisis, the obvious question experts are asking is do we really need another opioid? Two criticisms are that there may be more deaths from overdosing with this drug, and health workers in confined health settings may find it easy to steal it. The FDA, however, says it has learned from the opioid crisis and has tightly restricted Dsuvia. It will not be available at pharmacies or for home use, the package is for single-use only, and it should only be used for 72 hours tops.

Side effects, not surprisingly can be horrendous: fatigue, possible breathing problems, and even coma and death. The cost will be $50 to $60 per pill.

Test strips for Fentanyl

At the same time as a new opioid has been approved, there’s a new “tool” in the fight against opioid overdoses, according to several media outlets — a strip of paper that can test for fentanyl in batches of heroin. In October, The Atlantic reported a recent study found that drug users who employ them as a precaution before ingesting opioids or cocaine can possibly avoid overdosing.

Fentanyl is 50 times stronger than heroin and has been found in at least half of overdoses now. (As indicated, cocaine is often laced with fentanyl as well.) Researchers posit that if more people with substance use disorder had access to the strips, “they’d use less, or possibly not use … at all.” A YouTube video made by the Associated Press shows that when the strip is dipped into a drug, the appearance of two red stripes signifies fentanyl is present, and one stripe means it is not.

As we know, some states, and even cities, are more progressive than others. “… Baltimore; Philadelphia; Columbus, Ohio; and Burlington, Vermont—have started providing the test strips alongside clean needles. The California public-health department pays for the distribution of strips through needle exchanges.” Leave it to California to lead the way.

However, some health agencies have questioned the accuracy of the strips and whether or not a person would actually not take drugs they have right in front of them. Also, some experts want to see more research done.

There’s an obstacle as well: Some areas have “paraphernalia laws” that prohibit the use of devices to aid in doing drugs, except clean syringes, so these laws need to be amended to exempt test strips as well.

The cost may also deter some users. Each strip costs $1.00, and users take drugs on average four times a day, so it’s not a cheap aid for people who don’t have money.

The justice system has becomea lot more just lately when it comes to people suffering from substance use disorders by offering diversion programs that allow people who abuse drugs and commit crimes to avoid jail time by attending treatment and engaging in long-term monitoring. Certain professionals such as police, doctors, and lawyers have their own way of offering support to those willing to accept help.

Pilots in the throes of addiction are another group that has benefitted immensely from caring colleagues.Larry Smith, a former commercial pilot for Braniff and United Airlines who was addicted to several substances received incredible support from United Airlines, the FAA Medical Division, and the program for pilots calledHIMS(more about that later). Today he is CEO of Get Real Recoveryin San Juan Capistrano, CA, an FAA-approved treatment center he co-founded with his wife Lori in 2011.

Larry’s story is mesmerizing. In 1983 he received a DUI, although he was a furloughed pilot at the time. He received a second one that was reduced to a charge of reckless operation without alcohol. Larry now openly admits it should have been a DUI. He thought it was clever how he was able to duck under the radar for so long. Most alcoholics and addicts suffer from extreme denial, he says, and he was no different. Larry teaches that denial is the brain’s defense mechanism to protect the perceived right to use, not a character defect. Addicted people will use every type of denial possible to avoid being detected. They hide their pain and self-disgust with charm or anger, whatever is necessary. Larry sees himself in others at every intervention, counseling session, and group that he facilitates.

Larry’s addiction to alcohol started in 1965 at 14 years old. He started using cocaine occasionally in the 1980’s, and by 1998 he advanced to smoking crack. “I recognized I had a serious problem then, but I didn’t know what to do,” he recalls. He was afraid to turn himself in to the EAP or HIMS programs as he mistakenly thought he would be immediately fired if the truth about his chemical dependencies was exposed.

On February 3rd, 1999, a vice squad of 12 masked men with shotguns and riot batons used a battering ram to invade his home in Ohio. His arrest quickly made the national news. Smith was released from jail on February 5th and received a call from his chief pilot. He thought he was going to be fired, but instead, his boss offered him treatment. His first treatment center was too lenient with clients, so United’s EAP transferred him to Cornerstone of Southern California. He admits now, “I wasn’t a model patient; nevertheless, I fell in love with recovery!”

Nine months later Smith flew a 747 from SFO to Kona with 400 passengers on board. He gives all the credit to God and a forward-thinking airline. The FAA, United’s EAP and Management, an Aviation Medical Examiner, a psychiatrist and the Pilot’s Union (ALPA) all closely monitored Captain Smith’s progress for 5 ½ years. During this time, Larry became a licensed counselor and started speaking on addiction and the hi-jacked brain. Immediately after being released from FAA Monitoring, he spent eight years as a volunteer Union Rep to United Airlines EAP. Then and now, he guides and counsel pilots who abuse alcohol and drugs.

As the HIMS website explains: “The HIMS program was established to provide a system whereby afflicted individuals are treated and successfully returned to the cockpit under the FAA Special Issuance Regulations (14 CFR 67.401).”

It’s rigorous:

“The purpose of the HIMS program is to effectively treat the disease of chemical dependency in pilot populations in order to save lives and careers while enhancing flight safety. The HIMS concept is based on a cooperative and mutually supportive relationship between pilots, their management, and the FAA. Trained managers and peer pilots interact to identify and, in many cases, conduct an intervention to direct the troubled individual to a substance abuse professional for a diagnostic evaluation. If deemed medically necessary, treatment is then initiated. Following successful treatment and comprehensive continuing care, the pilot is eligible to seek FAA medical re-certification.

The FAA requires the pilot to be further evaluated by a specially trained FAA Aviation Medical Examiner (AME) who then acts as the Independent Medical Sponsor (IMS) to coordinate the FAA re-certification process. The medical sponsor provides oversight of the pilot’s continuing care. This care includes a monthly interview by a trained flight manager and by a pilot peer committee member, as well as periodic follow-up observations. Because of the relapse potential of chemical dependency, the monitoring will typically continue for several years after the pilot resumes his duties. The HIMS program is designed to ensure the pilot maintains total abstinence and to protect flight safety.”

Larry explains some of the challenges pilots face this way: “Pilots are great at following directions, like the checklist we give them in recovery, but they’re not so great at processing what’s within. We find that some had trauma in their early life. For example, some were at war, and some grew up with rigid fathers and co-dependent mothers and so forth, and counseling helps them see what may have caused them to drink and help them get out of their own minds.”

In 2010 he wrote The Daily Life Plan Journal, a goal-setting journaling guide for people in recovery to be able to simply draw lines on airplane-like gauges to assess their feelings and emotions. For example, instead of asking them to mark their flight level, they’re asked, What is your motivation level “right at this moment?” It’s an effective way to journal for people who don’t like to write or have difficulty expressing themselves in writing. This journal allows a person to simply put pen to paper and measure their feelings by drawing a line.

In addition, he wrote a book about overcoming addiction calledFlight to Transformation. The book is part memoir and part a strongly spiritual walk through recovery. He’s also expanding his treatment knowledge to include MAT–Medically Assisted Treatment, and the use of Stem Cells in recovery.

With all the evidence available, there’s no denying some employees have used drugs while working, whether they shot up in a restroom, or popped a few pills at their desk, for example. An article in The New York Times holds that ”As the opioid epidemic continues to rage…, the fallout is increasingly manifesting itself at construction sites, factories, warehouses, offices, and other workplaces.”

An earlier post on addiction in Silicon Valley mentioned that substance abuse in the workplace took place in offices there as well. But this article focuses on a construction worker, an employee in an industry that has been found in the past to have one of the highest rates of addiction of any field. Today it has “the second-highest rate of pain medication and opioid misuse after the entertainment, recreation and food business,” according to the article, and construction workers also have “twice the addiction rate of all working adults.”

According to an 11-year old survey by the National Safety Council, at the time, 70 percent of employers said that prescription drug abuse had affected their businesses, relating to absenteeism, injuries, accidents, and, of course, overdoses even then. Understandably, there were positive drug tests as well.

The construction worker in the article has overdosed on the job several times, and was revived with Narcan by a coworker at least twice. He never went to rehab, until he was fired and returned to his hometown. He joined the local construction union, which was a lifesaver. He had an outstanding arrest warrant which proved troublesome in getting him into a program, but union officials talked a judge into letting him serve his time in rehab. So far, he has been clean and is working, thanks to his union.

The current statistics are not good: in 2016, 217 workers died from overdosing on alcohol or other drugs at work, which was a 32 percent increase from 2015. Overdose deaths in workplaces have increased every year since 2010. That includes someone at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, a crawfish fisherman in Louisiana, and a Sam’s Club warehouse worker in Texas. The guy down the street in your neighborhood, the man sitting next to you on the bus, or the father of a boy on your son’s little league team.

The article reports that few businesses are willing to acknowledge the drug use at their company. Yet certain enterprising business people do and are willing to help, like Alan Hart, president of Giovanna Painting in Spencerport, NY. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that he’s in recovery himself. He tries to help workers enter rehab, although he doesn’t offer employees health insurance. He also fires workers he suspects of abusing drugs while working.

It would be naïve to think drug use doesn’t go on in the workplace, and just like addiction can hit anyone, so drug use can appear in any business. Perhaps you heard of the teacher who OD’d in a school bathroom and died, although his wife had no idea he was on drugs. The news traveled as far as the United Kingdom.

In the corporate world, perhaps disseminating more information about Employee Assistance Programs would help. (For that matter, a comparison of programs would be a good thing, along with what laws mandate as far as offering employees treatment.) In addition, perhaps there should be guidelines for what employees can do if they suspect a co-worker of taking drugs, not as a punitive measure, but to try and address the problem. And of course, Narcan could be made available in workplaces. At least companies could discuss these approaches and others.

The number of people suffering from substance use disorder who likely think they won’t end up in jail is probably large—especially if they have good jobs. They never think it will happen to them. But it can. As a recent episode of the TV program Dopesick Nation showed, even formerly responsible citizens may find themselves stealing, forging prescriptions, and so forth to support their habit.

You may have heard we’re not doing nearly enough for substance abusers who end up in jail. But there are a few programs around the country that seek to help these people, often in small towns, that can serve as examples for other towns. Here are a few.

Peer recovery coaches in NJ

In one NJ town, certified peer recovery specialists are volunteering to work with those suffering from substance use disorder who are incarcerated. In a new program called Next Step, the volunteers are called coaches, and they help to steer prisoners into treatment.

Bail reform in certain areas of the country means that nonviolent offenders are being released earlier, and for addicts, that usually means without treatment or the offer of treatment. (And many [most?] likely got little help in jail.) Although it’s too soon to comment on the program’s success, shortly after the program was instituted at the jail, nearly half of those screened entered treatment.

One of the county prosecutors noted that when people are sent to jail, it’s often their lowest point, a good time to try and convince them that treatment may save their life. Several local organizations have stepped up to provide clinical assistance, including a social services organization helping inmates find jobs, a recovery center, a peer recovery organization and a hospital.

Having a peer in recovery work with an incarcerated person is another tool in the toolbox to help someone get healthy and return to society.

The Start Strong 3 E’s in Kentucky

There’s a new treatment program in the detention center in Kenton County, KY, in which inmates are expected to be “Employed, Enlisted, or furthering their Education,” 12 weeks after release, according to the program director. The key in this area, which has suffered greatly in the opioid addiction crisis? The jail is partnering with Aetna Better Health and getting help from the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation.

The concept involves giving medication not only to quell cravings or ease withdrawal symptoms, but to stabilize patients getting therapeutic care in jail. They will then have the option to stay with medication assistance during and after their incarceration,according to a local TV station.And, luckily for these inmates, there’s an aftercare program with intensive job training.

Vivitrol and Counseling in Central New York State

In Onondaga County, NY, addicted inmates are given the opportunity to have injections of Vivitrol and attend counseling sessions.According to the Vivitrol website, the medication “is a non-addictive, once-monthly treatment proven to prevent relapse in opioid dependent patients when used with counseling following detoxification.”

Chicago’s Thrive program

Inmates suffering from substance abuse in a Cook County jail who are not in the drug court program are being offered naloxone on release and will be monitored “in a modified version of the sheriff’s electronic monitoring program.” (For example, caseworkers who worked with one woman on the inside will continue to work with her once she’s released.)

Other programs, in Indiana, Orange County, Florida, and Cincinnati, Ohio and Kings County, California, to name a few, show that a number of jails realize they can contribute to finding solutions to substance abuse in this country. Whether it’s to offer Suboxone, Naltrexone, Vivitrol, peer coaches, and counseling and job training, or a combination, these programs can serve as a blueprint for other jails.

How Many Chances Should a Drug User Get?

Recently, a letter to the editor in a newspaper from the managing director for policy at the Drug Policy Alliance asked the rhetorical question above. He’s a psychiatrist with a background in public policy and bioethics, and he wrote to the paper after reading that a patient with endocarditis was denied necessary surgery because of intravenous drug use. He called it abandoning a patient. Endocarditis, an infection of the heart, is life-threatening but treatable. Just as drug use has been compared to having cancer—a disease that we treat even if the person has smoked, when smoking is a known carcinogen—the psychiatrist argues that a known drug user shouldn’t be denied care. Should someone with a second heart attack be sent to hospice instead of being treated, just because he didn’t take his medication after the first one, he asks? He notes that several illnesses are accompanied by behavior that is self-destructive. And when the writer asks about how many chances drug users should get, he answers his own question: “The same number as a smoker with cancer, a drunken driver in an accident, and a father after a heart attack. The same number you would want for your loved one.”

Felons Becoming Lawyers

There’s one area in which the legal system is surprising a number of people—allowing former drug addicts who have been incarcerated to become lawyers. Yes, you read that right. If you watch 60 Minutes, you may have seen the segment where a man robbed banks, spent years in prison and went on to become one when he was released. But Tara Simmons seems to be one of the first people suffering from substance use disorder to get her law license. As an article about felons becoming lawyers explains, “Whether people like Ms. Simmons should be allowed to practice law is a hot question these days. Acceptance for those with less-than-impeccable pedigrees seems to be rising.” Ms. Simmons had to appeal after her application to even take the bar exam was rejected. And even if you pass in a similar situation, it may be difficult to be sworn into the bar. A former cocaine trafficker who did time spent $25,000 “going through the process.”

Relapsing Shouldn’t Be a Crime

Along these same lines, an editorial in The New York Times used the case of Julie Eldred to discuss the argument noted above—sending people to jail for relapsing because she broke her probation when she tested positive for fentanyl. That’s what often happens in the U.S. justice system, the paper noted. But her case is now being heard by the Massachusetts Supreme Court. Wil it change drug policy? That remains to be seen. Her lawyer is challenging the notion that it’s OK to require people with a substance use disorder not to use drugs while on probation, and of sending them to jail if they do. The prosecution rebutted the disease model of addiction as her defense. Using that very disease model, the editorial goes on to give a cogent argument for keeping addicts who relapse out of jail. The argument in favor is that those who suffer from a substance use disorder cannot choose rationally and consistently because their ability not to relapse is impaired by brain changes due to chronic drug use and the colossal force of addiction. Policies like the one that caught Julie Eldred in their net are part and parcel of the criminalization policy. While not everyone suffering from substance use disorder should be freed from all consequences, the consequences should be fair, says a professor of public policy.

Treatment of Opioid Use is Not a Mystery

In response to the editorial mentioned previously, a clinical professor of population health felt the need to point out a few facts about the fight against the opioid epidemic. People with opioid use disorder who are successful in overcoming it take methadone or buprenorphine and undergo behavioral therapy and counseling, he says. And sometimes it doesn’t even take doing both for them to succeed. He, too, complains that we criminalize the patient, the disease, and the treatment when we don’t have to. The writer is also the former chief of addiction medicine at the notorious Rikers Island prison, by the way, which was a big part of the movie “The Night Of.” Another writer, a director of the Program in Addiction Medicine at the Yale School of Medicine, had a great thought: “We need to teach addiction with the same attention to genes, physiology, cells receptors, transmitters and scientific evidence as we do cancer to try to capture trainees’ interest.” For more information or to find a Rehab in California, please contact Summit Estate at (866) 569-9391.

A New Medication

On June 6, CBS TV profiled an early stage biotechnology company called Blue Therapeuticsthat has developed a non-addictive painkiller. Pharmaceutical companies have been talking about developing less addictive painkillers lately, but their definition refers to pills that would be more difficult to crush and so forth. Blue Therapeutics supposedly has the real thing, which means that people looking for pain relief will not become addicted with this medication as has happened so often with other pain relief. This company’s medication clings to different receptors that are non-addictive and so it “eliminates the narcotic high,” according to a company executive who was interviewed. Unfortunately, the medication won’t be available for about five years. It’s in clinical trials now.

Acupuncture

People in recovery from heroin and methamphetamine addiction might suffer from anxiety and fear like Sarah Downs, the woman featured in an articleappearing in several newspapers in May. She was at the Pickaway Area Recovery Services (PARS) in Ohio, for acupuncture, which she hoped would ease the symptoms she experienced since getting sober for three months prior. Jimmy Laux, a chiropractor associated with the program, eased needles into her ears in a new program for the center. What’s interesting is that a judge is linked to the program as well. He heard about Laux because he sends defendants to a recovery facility, and Laux educated him about acupuncture for easing addicts’ recovery. This judge has pledged almost $13,000 for treatment for people who don’t have the funds to pay for it themselves. Acupuncture isn’t meant to be used in isolation, the article said. NAR-ANON and AA meetings are also important, as well as therapy. But the executive director of PARS said that his research “shows that people in recovery who undergo acupuncture stay clean at a higher rate than those who don’t.”

Brain Stimulation

It’s surprising that brain stimulation isn’t more well-known than it is when it was publicized as far back as 2015. On a site called Addiction Recovery Guide, run by a psychologist, Magnetic Brain Stimulation and Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation are mentioned as promising research. Magnetic Brain Stimulation stimulates nerve cells in the brain’s prefrontal cortex, which controls impulsive behavior. The article says it’s been used since the 1980 to treat depression, and in a study using it for cocaine addiction, patients were able to reduce their cocaine use and had few cravings after eight sessions. This information was published in the European Neuropsychopharmacology Journal (December 3, 2015). Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation has also been used for depression and anxiety, and was also was found to decrease cravings for drugs, although more study on how many sessions and what length is needed. This information was published in the October 2016 issue of the Annals of Neuroscience.

Exercise

The fact that exercise is good for people in recovery is nothing new. Treatment centers often have exercise programs, and clients are advised about the benefits of exercise, But if you thought that was only to return a person to health, you should know that exercise can have actual positive effects on recovery. In June U.S. Newscited a study which found “daily aerobic exercise altered dopamine signaling in the brain in ways that make alcohol and other substances of abuse less appealing or rewarding.” The lead author also said that exercise also increases functioning of the brain’s frontal areas, which help inhibit cravings. For information on drug rehab programs please contact our rehab in California at (866) 569-9391

Often, the stereotype of someone suffering from alcohol or other substance use disorder is that they’re down and out, barely functioning most of the time, and always looking for the next drink or fix. Yet if you’re at all knowledgeable about addiction, you know that addiction affects people atall socioeconomic levels, including executives in the corner office and other white collar professionals.

These employees often work in highly stressful jobs, such as in high-tech companies, where much is expected of them. They also fall prey to the stigma of addiction, so the fear of losing their job is strong.

Denial is strong at this level, and the excuses are many.Perhaps the most common is that they don’t have a problem. Some people say they deserve to drink or take drugs because of all they’re dealing with, or even that they can do their job better with drugs. (I interviewed one woman addicted to oxycodone who said she took a handful of pills every day just to feel normal.) Others say they could never take time from work for treatment.Tyler Fitzgerald,Clinical Director of Summit Estate, says his experience has been that most companies are incredibly supportive of people getting help, especially in Silicon Valley. “What they won’t put up with is the absenteeism, the hangovers, and the outbursts,” adds Jon Heller, Summit Estate’s Admissions Director.

You may have done some research and learned that effective treatment facilities group people with similar needs for the best results. A teenage boy does not have the same rehabilitation needs as a high-level executive, for example. Summit Estate caters to white collar professionals with stressful jobs. “We’re the non-luxury luxury treatment center,” says Fitzgerald. “This is not the kind of place where people come and are pampered and get to sleep until noon and have breakfast brought to them. We don’t emphasize the things that aren’t necessary. We focus on real treatment for real people.”

Similarly, he explains, the reintegration program is an intensive daily program that can be built around people’s work schedules, if need be. “People continue working with their therapist and their treatment team while being reintegrated into the community and learn how to deal with the everyday stresses of work.”

Even during the program, people who absolutely need to keep in touch with work can be accommodated. “What we do is take away excuses not to come,” says Fitzgerald.

On Psych Central, Dr. David Sack explains that addicts may think they’re “getting away with” their addition quite awhile before taking action: “High-functioning addicts are masters of disguise whose struggles with drugs and alcohol may go unnoticed for years, often with increasingly severe consequences. A … position of power at work … may cushion them from the consequences of their drug use, while a sense of self-importance or belief that they can resolve their own problems may prevent them from seeking treatment.”

Fitzgerald offers the perfect conclusion for this post with an apt observation about treatment: “Our clients could be at their bottom. They could have been called in at work and spoken to about their performance, or perhaps other people have noticed they’ve been intoxicated or are increasingly missing deadlines or work. Everyone’s bottom is the same — you’re up against a wall, and the rug’s about to be pulled out from under you and you’re going to be exposed. Our clients often come to us in a state of panic that they’re going to lose their job; this is the time to save it.”

One of the difficult things to approach is the way people think about people who need a drug addiction treatment center. It is often seen as a weakness and not as a genetic trait. It is believed that those who have the genes associated with addiction have a much higher chance to fall in substance abuse. Whatever the case is, treatment and awareness are important to improve patient’s life quality.

As with many other psychological issues, there is a great deal of misinformation and often common ‘’public’’ concepts perpetuate stereotypes that need to be defeated. Summit Rehab Center has the mission not only to support those going through addictions but also, provide useful information on this matter.

A Metaphor works best sometimes

When you fight cancer and win, the term used is remission instead of ‘’cured’’. The reason for this is that the underlying causes of cancer (often genetic) are still present, it is just that cancer has been defeated this time. The exact same concept applies to addiction and rehab programs. You are never 100% cured of the addiction, you just fight the urges of substance abuse instead.

A point to strengthen this argument

For recovering addicts, the only way to avoid a relapse is to cut the addictive substance off entirely. Many people enjoy alcohol in a social setting and can drink moderate amounts without major problems. However, someone who abused alcohol will be unable to drink just a moderate amount. Their addiction will kick in and a downward spiral of abuse will re-emerge.

Each Journey is Different

For some, regular meetings of support groups and a sponsor might be necessary for life. For others, the process of rehab is easier and eventually, they will slip back into regular life. The important path that each person will have to take to fix their lives is personal. Whether you call it cured or remission or something else, as long as you’re not abusing substances anymore then that’s what matters the most.

Finding a path and a method that works for the recovering addict is vital to ensuring a long-term recovery. At Summit Estate, we provide high-quality rehabilitation programs for many different types of substance abuse. If you or a beloved one is going through such terrible situation, don’t hesitate anymore. Please give us a call at (866) 569-9391 and let us know what your situation is.

If you have PPO coverage from a major insurance provider, your treatment may be covered. We are unable to accept Medi-Cal, Medicare, Medicaid, Tricare, Kaiser, Healthnet or Humana at this time.

Summit Estate Recovery Center is accredited through the Joint Commission. This organization seeks to enhance the lives of the persons served in healthcare settings through a consultative accreditation process emphasizing quality, value and optimal outcomes of services.

Organizations that earn the Gold Seal of Approval™ have met or exceeded The Joint Commission’s rigorous performance standards to obtain this distinctive and internationally recognized accreditation. Learn more about this accreditation here.